Received your letters and I am always glad to hear from you. Dad, thanks for the magazines, they help a great deal. Mother, I surely did appreciate yours and Annes letters. Anne writes quite well.
Just finished making out the payroll for 148 men and is it ever one tough job. The gov’t surely is particular and I’ll say one thing they surely do keep track of the men in each Company.
They are now talking of putting me in the Quartermaster Department. So I am getting plenty of training.
We never talk about the war here except that we think it is going to end rather abruptly and that the U.S. is better prepared than the average citizen thinks.
I expect you and Anne are having quite a time.
Must admit that today was very nice. It has been so warm that I didn’t even wear my sweatshirt. I ran around in my shirt all day and was quite comfortable.
As a matter of fact we don’t even have the kerosene stove lit this evening.
Mother, I will write Grandfather Shawler this weekend. We are also going to take some pictures this weekend and when they are finished I’ll send you some.
Didn’t use the back of the first page as I noticed it was plenty dirty. This weekend I am going to church and rest.
Dad, I did get a new battery for the Ford. Guess I must have gotten a lemon.
Hope this finds all of you in the best of health.
It is now 9 pm and I am going to retire. Write often as I am always glad to hear from all of you.
I surely was sorry to hear of the death of Elizabeth’s father. This evening I will drop Mrs. Dickson a letter.
Did I ever enjoy myself over the weekend. I visited the Whitemans. One of the fellows here at the camp drove to Long Beach so I went with him. I payed him $1.50 for the round trip. It would have cost me $2.86 a round trip on the bus. We left here about 2:30 pm Saturday afternoon and I arrived at the Whitemans about six that evening. You see it is 98 miles from Camp Elliott to Long Beach. It surely was a beautiful drive as we followed the ocean all the way. We left long beach at ten last evening and I got back to Camp Elliott at 1:30 am this morning.
Saturday evening Bob McCullogh and his wife stopped over to see the Whitemans and we had quite a visit. Then Sunday morning we got up early and Bob & Sara drove me to Los Angeles and we stopped to see Joe and May. They seemed very glad to see us. I saw your house. Joe took me over and I went through it. The house has 2 bedrooms, a bath, kitchen, and a living and dinning room combined. It also has hardwood floors except in the kitchen. The lot I would say is about 20 feet by 50 feet. It also has a garage on it about the size of yours at home. I ask Joe what he was renting it for and he said $30.00k per month. I figure you should get at least $3600.00 for the house and lot. The house Joe & May are living in (the one Uncle Harrison lived in) is nice. It is a corner lot and the house is similar to yours. Oh. Yes he had the living room and dinning room papered and it did need it. The tenants in the house seem ok.
Warren Taylor and his wife came down Sunday and did we all have a nice chat. He and Fannie are just the same.
Sara surely is a good cook and I enjoyed my meals. They have a very nice home. They even have a orange tree in their back yard and believe it or not it is loaded with oranges. They seem to be getting acclimated more to California. They drove me around a great deal and Long Beach is a beautiful city. Say, doesn’t John Law live in Long Beach?
Russell Jensen stopped over to see me this morning. He and his wife are sailing in the morning for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii where he will be attached to the Naval Hospital. We had a very nice chat. He is to be admired for working his way through medical school.
The sun shined all week end but it is raining here again this evening and I just let the kerosene stove as it is a little chilly.
Dad the fellows name is Carl Wiegold who played with Don Stanton. Oh! Yes, Russell Jensen, the Whitemans, the Taylors and McCullloghs said for me to be sure and remember them to you folks.
Mother, I was sorry to hear you had to postpone your trip with Dad to Peoria but it was nice of you to keep Anne. Thanks Dad for the magazines. I enjoy them.
Write whenever you have time as I am always glad to hear from all of you.
Love to all,
Leo
Oh: Yes Joe & May invited me down to see them (May & Joe surely did sing the blues to me & Joe told me had had sent Al, Cora, Mat and Joe $50.00 each of the estate when it is to be settled.)
Received my clothes and suitcase o.k. and thanks very much. I want to especially thank you for the candy, gum and new hose. You don’t realize how greatly I appreciate them.
Dad you ask about my pay. Well I now get $21.00 per month less 20 cents per month for hospital care (including dental work, operations, etc.) less $3.55 per month for insurance. I am enclosing my policy. It is for $5,000 and I have named you folks as the beneficiaries. So I now receive a total of $21.00 less $3.75 or $17.25 per month. At the end of four months my pay goes up to $30.00 per month. Then you get raises as you increase your rank. A pfc or a private first class gets $36.00 per month a corporal $54.00 a seargent $80.00 and on up the scale. At the end of my first eight months at the rate I am now going I should be making $54.00 per month.
Talk about rain—you have never seen any rain in Illinois. It has been raining almost steady here for a period of 72 hours or ever since Monday. You will get a laugh out of this—I have gone back to kerosene heat. It is so chilly we have a kerosene stove going in our tent and also one in the tent we use for an office.
This evening I shined my civilian shoes, my dress marine shoes, my belt and saddle soaped the bag you sent my clothes in.
Oh! The term they use in the Marines for your bed or bunk is “fart sack.” The top Seargent told me to go see if the Captain was in his “fart sack” today and I had to ask him what “fart sack” meant?
Mother, I am doing office work only my office is a tent and with my office work I also have other duties.
Am always glad to receive mail from home and Dad thanks for the papers and magazines.
This life is surely a rugged one but I am enjoying it very much. Haven’t seen any drunkenness or gambling here. As a matter of fact they put those that do in solitary confinement. That is one thing the Commanding General of the Camp here does not permit.
Am glad the Tuesday evening crowd enjoyed the letter. I will drop them another one before long.
Will be seeing the Whitemans this week end–will be glad to see them.
Write whenever you have time. Hope all of you are in the best of health.
Yesterday we moved back to San Diego to the base. We are also living in tents here. We parade before the Colonel Wednesday and then have our final inspection on Friday and then receive our scatter sheets. In the parade Wednesday I carry the company flag instead of my rifle because I was Honor Man. I have to do the manual with it the same as my rifle.
By the time you get this you probably will have read the letter I wrote Roberts in which I explained record day at the rifle range.
The Chaplain surely did deliver a good sermon this morning. He surely does have a splendid way in putting his point over.
Dad, I get the Pathfinders and the front Rank and I surely do appreciate them. Surely is some good reading material in both of them.
Our Sargent’s father died Friday morning. I surely do feel sorry for him. His father was 62 years of age and dropped dead from heart failure while on his way to work.
We had white rabbit for chow today noon. It surely was good.
This afternoon I washed my clothes. All this week they will be inspected every day.
Oh: yes, they had me fill out a publicity sheet today. So maybe it will be in the local paper one of these days.
Tonight I must shine my cap visor, shoes & belt. As soon as I get out I will have a picture taken to send you.
You know this Marine life isn’t so bad. You get three meals a day, your clothes and a place to sleep. Since I have been into it for awhile I believe every male citizen should have to serve one day, I mean one term. Some fellows are in my tent talking and I get mixed up once in awhile.
Mother, I hope you are feeling much better and you be sure to take good care of yourself.
Drop me a line whenever you have time! I always am glad to receive mail from all of you.
Mother I received your letters today and I was surely glad to hear from you. I am sorry you are not feeling very good and I do hope you will have a speedy recovery.
As to your questions—I think four years of this life will do me good. It surely is learning me a good lesson and I will carry the ideals with me the rest of my life. Gee. I sure will have a lot to tell you when I see you.
Had a very pleasant surprise Sunday evening about 6 pm. The Whitemans drove out here to the rifle range to see me. We had quite a chat. I guess they must have been glad to see me. Sarah even grabbed me and kissed me. They are having me up to Long Beach on my first weekend leave.
Dad, I received the package with the medals in it OK and thanks a lot. I also have been receiving the papers OK.
What did the Tuesday evening club think of the letter?
Well we will be leaving here this Saturday for the base. Then about the middle of next week we will receive our scatter papers telling us where we will go. As it looks now they are going to send me to sea school but don’t put this out for sure as I will know definitely.
This Friday we fire for record on the range. I surely do hope I am on and have a good day. It surely is a lot of fun firing the rifle.
Will close now as I want to get this in the mail and get it off.
